Intro Guide to Dynamic Events

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August 14, 2012 - 11:23pm -- jeffprime

Guild Wars 2 offers quite a few game mechanics to enhance the gaming experience of its players. From the use of their bundle system to their level scaling to their renown and karma system, Guild Wars 2 offers some refreshing takes on the standard MMO grind. One of their most interesting game mechanics is the use of dynamic events.

What Are Dynamic Events?

Dynamic events in Guild Wars 2 are events that occur in the ongoing, living-and-breathing world of Tyria. These events do not require players to trigger them as they will naturally occur. As a player travels throughout Tyria, dynamic events will spawn and the player will become aware of them by text appearing on the player's screen and the event will be marked on the player's map as well. In both instances, the text and map colors are orange to indicate a dynamic event. Some events have repercussions in that a waypoint may not be accessible as that area is overrun by invaders and those invaders will need to be driven off before the waypoint is usable again.

Dynamic Event Breakdown

There are a number of different types of dynamic events. These can range from helping a NPC gather materials to escorting a merchant caravan to a neighboring town to helping defend an area from invaders. The actions needed to complete a dynamic event in Guild Wars 2 varies depending upon the event itself, such as is the case for completing Renown Hearts. In one dynamic event, you might be defending a fort from centaur invaders whilst a few minutes later in a different dynamic event, you might be escorting a little girl who fell down a hole into a volcanic cave safely back home. Each dynamic event has a NPC associated with it that you can talk for background information of the event.

Types of Dynamic Events

Protect an area or NPC

Defeat a specific enemy

Provide service

Gather/collect items

Destroy an object

Use force to complete event

A brawl

Take or hold an area

There are two key features of dynamic events in Guild Wars 2. The first is that the dynamic event will scale according to the number of players present. If more players participate in the dynamic event, that event will become more difficult by making enemy monsters tougher, increasing their number, or giving them new abilities to use. By using a scaling progression, these events are playable from one or two people all the way up to a large mob.

The second key feature of dynamic events is that you don't have to group with other players to participate or get rewarded. As long as you're participating in the event itself, you will get rewarded for your effort. This shared goal of completing the event allows players to work together without going through the hassle of officially grouping up. In addition, the players don't need to successfully complete a dynamic event to get rewarded. If you fail an event, you will still gain a reward, but not as much as you would receive if you had successfully completed the event.

Dynamic events in Guild Wars 2 can trigger additional events. One such example takes place at Triskell Quay in the Kessex Hills. The first dynamic event has you defending the town from monsters intent on enslaving the townspeople. Once you've driven the invaders off, another dynamic event occurs where you have to swim out to the middle of the lake and rescue captured townspeople. Some dynamic events are one-and-done, while others can trigger a whole chain of new events.

There are more challenging dynamic events called group events. These events are designated as such and tend to require a group to successfully complete.

Dynamic Event Rewards

When a dynamic event is concluded in Guild Wars 2, the player will be rewarded with karma, experience, and money. Depending upon the player's level of participation, you'll gain a reward in the level of gold, silver, or bronze. Naturally, the higher the level of reward, the more XP, karma, and money you'll receive. If you do not successfully complete a dynamic event (as in it fails), your reward is about half of what you would normally get. By giving out rewards even for a failed event increases the incentive for players to participate. You can also be part of a dynamic event, leave, and still get rewarded for the level of participation you did when the event concludes. Lastly, doing dynamic events also reward you in that you gain rewards for doing them as a daily achievement, which eventually rewards you with more XP and money if you do five in a day.

The dynamic event system in Guild Wars 2 is an intriguing and worthwhile addition to the game. It rewards the player for exploring the world as they'll come across more events. It also encourages players to work together to successfully complete the event, but does not force them to officially group together. Finally, whether or not you beat the event, you still get rewarded. These factors, not to mention that dynamic events make the world of Tryia feel alive, make the dynamic event system one that players will eagerly be partaking in.

Those "Series" of Dynamic Events are officially refered to as Meta Events. They become much more prevelant in higher level areas as well as more important.

For example, there is a Meta Event that starts with a Dynamic Event to protect an outpost, runs through a chain of about 5 different events, each one chaining along one after the other, untill at the end it actually opens up a mini dungeon that only opens if you follow and succeed in the meta event chain.

Though it should also be noted that if you enter the area during the middle of the chain of events already in progress by another group, you can just join in. You don't have to start it from the beginning again.